Monday, April 25, 2011

EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...4-26-'11

As the trial continued Monday for retired Huntington Police Captain Foster “Pete” Bowen, three witnesses testified he never showed them pornography, they never saw him show it to other boys and they never saw him looking at any pornography. Jared Alsop, a young man who grew up next door to Bowen's Bergoo cabin, took the stand testifying he spent a lot of time at the Bowen cabin and even slept in the same bed with Bowen and also visited the Bowen's at their Barboursville home several summers for a week at a time. Alsop told the court nothing inappropriate ever happened. Jeff Lyke, also know as Bebo, testified under cross-examination by the prosecution that Bowen did grab him by the private parts in a playful manner on more than one occasion after initially denying the act. He told Cabell County Prosecutor Chris Chiles he didn’t consider it anything bad because they were just horsing around and playing. It wasn’t what you’re making it out to be, he said. J.W. Bowen, Pete's son, also took the stand. J.W. Bowen said his father was well liked and respected by boys in their Barboursville neighborhood and near the Webster County cabin. He said it wasn’t uncommon for boys to spend the night and even sleep in the same bed with his father, but he never saw his father grab boys’ private parts.

Shawn Thomas Lester, the 35 year old man charged with the 2003 sniper-style shooting of Jeannie Patton, appeared in front of a Kanawha County Magistrate for a preliminary hearing Monday. Patton, who was found outside a Speedway in Campbell's Creek in Charleston August 14, 2003, was one of three victims who were killed in similar shootings in 2003. Police say the killer, or killers, used the same gun in each shooting. However, Lester has been charged only in connection to Patton's death. Prosecutors called Charleston Police Investigator Steve Cooper and Charles Roberts, a former inmate who "became close" with Lester while incarcerated. Roberts testified that Lester confided in him and detailed his part in the shooting death of Patton. The case has been sent to the grand jury.

Six privately owned West Virginia pharmacies and six registered pharmacists have filed a lawsuit in McDowell County Circuit Court against CVS Pharmacies, CVS Caremark and several other defendants alleging the group engaged in unfair business practices. Specifically, it alleges the group participated in a continuing scheme to unlawfully force certain West Virginians to use CVS-owned pharmacies in order to have most, if not all, of their prescriptions filled. The lawsuit alleges that patients with CVS Caremark coverage who attempted to get prescriptions filled at pharmacies other than CVS were told Caremark would not pay for the prescription unless it was filled at a CVS pharmacy or through a CVS mail order system. The patients were told if they wanted their prescription filed they had two options: find the nearest CVS pharmacy or pay the total cash price for the medicine.

Monday, 27 year old Brent Davis pleaded guilty to a charge of DUI causing death. Police say, in September, Davis was drunk when he crashed into a motorcycle on MacCorkle Avenue in South Charleston and didn't stop to help. The driver of the motorcycle, Mike Frame, lived for 6 days following the accident. Davis faces 2-10 years in prison when sentenced in June.

Mercer County Sheriff Don Meadows says Emanuel Ray Jackson, 22, of Montcalm, was arrested Monday morning and charged with the first-degree murder of Erika Goad, 21, of Princeton who has been missing since April 12th. Her body was found in a remote wooded area between Lashmeet and Spanishburg on Sunday. Jackson has also been charged with the theft of her car. Sheriff Meadows says Jackson was a distant cousin of Goad's husband.

Earl Albert Moore, 65, formerly from Glen Rogers in Wyoming County, West Virginia, is the subject of a nationwide manhunt. The FBI is searching for Moore in connection with an attempted bombing at a mall in Littleton, Colorado. The incident occurred on the anniversary of the Columbine tragedy. Moore pleaded guilty in June 2005 to robbing the Whitesville State Bank in Crab Orchard and was originally sentenced to 15 to 19 years in prison, but a federal appeals court reduced his sentence to seven years. He was released from jail a week before the attempted bombing.

Gregory Seftick, 31, of Afton, Wyoming, a former emergency room doctor at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Buckhannon until around February 2011, has been found dead after being reported missing for more than a week in Grand Teton National Park. Seftick and his friend, Walker Kuhl, were found by park officials under 13 feet of snow, still inside their sleeping bags in a tent. The pair had planned to climb Grand Teton, then ski back down, but severe weather caused an avalanche that killed them both.

The state Public Service Commission has been asked to approve AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile. something the company says will expand its wireless coverage in West Virginia to 95 percent. AT&T Mid-Atlantic President Michael Schweder says the purchase of T-Mobile's wireless spectrum will give his company coverage it's never had before and expand what it's doing in West Virginia while making competitors do the same thing. Schweder says AT&T has spent $100 million in the last three years to expand its wireless network in West Virginia. The $39 billion deal will also be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FCC. West Virginia is one of five states where regulatory approval is being sought.

Second District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito says Congress must develop an energy plan to address gas prices that are near $4 per gallon in West Virginia. Capito says the U.S. should be drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and using our own resources. She says the ongoing debate over an energy plan has been pushed aside, and, as Congress debates issues like spending cuts and tax policy, West Virginians have seen gas prices climb by nearly $1 per gallon over the past year.

It's been nearly 30 years since the West Virginia State Police rode motorcycles, the agency will soon have two BRP Can-Am Spyders. One is already at State Police headquarters in South Charleston. They're blue with the gold stripes, much like current cruisers. There will be a total of nine Can-Am Spyders distributed statewide to various police agencies through a state program. State Police Director of Traffic Records Sgt. Jerry Dornburg says using the three-wheeled motorcycles for anything from patrols to parades will heighten public awareness when it comes to driver safety.

John King II, the director of operations for the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority has been suspended without pay after his arrest on DUI charges Sunday morning. Police in South Charleston charged King with aggravated DUI after his blood alcohol level was measured at 0.239. Regional Jail Authority spokesman Joe DeLong says King has been suspended without pay pending the completion of the criminal and internal investigations, which is standard procedure. John Lopez, director of programs, will take King's position on an interim basis.

DEP Secretary Randy Huffman says, because of required state regulations, it's going to take at least a year to get new Department of Environmental Protection inspectors on the job. Huffman originally hoped to hire 15-17 new inspectors, but he's now pared down that number with a plan to hire 3, 6, or maybe 8, and he says that will take many, many months. Huffman hoped the legislature would pass a bill this past session that would increase the permitting fees from $600 to $10,000, but the bill didn't happen. meaning he can't hire as many inspectors as he'd like and he's even having to cut down on the time current inspectors spend in the field. Huffman says significant cuts in overtime does not mean the agency doesn't have adequate rules in place to give proper environmental protection.

Early voting for the May 14th special gubernatorial election begins Friday and continues through May 11th. The special general election to fill the remainder of former Governor Joe Manchin’s term is October 4th. Six Democrats and eight Republicans are running in the primary. Two Mountain Party candidates are seeking their party’s nomination, which will be decided by convention in May.